We compared USDA data for the average "large" US farm - defined as a farm with over $250,000 of income. The USDA says there are 151,000 large farms in the US - this makes up 7% of all the farms, but 59% of all farm production. That means a small number of big farms are growing most of our food.

Sometimes men and women alter their physiques and appearance to please others. Sometimes they change it to spite those who've rejected them. If you don't have enough self-respect to like who you are and how you look, do things to build up your own self-esteem until you get to the point where you like who you are or are motivated to become the person you'd like to be.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), an intense sweetener used in a vast and diverse array of food products, has been labeled the Devil’s candy and a sinister invention by the American media. A widely publicized book in the US, Fat Land, by the journalist Greg Critser, along with scientific research, proposes that its consumption is to blame for America’s obesity epidemic, while Juan Zapata, a Republican in the Florida House of Representatives, calls HFCS the crack of sweeteners and wants it banned.

The ancient Romans grew and cooked parsnips to make broths and stews. Throughout the Dark Ages and early Middle Ages, parsnips were the main starchy vegetable for ordinary people. Parsnips were easy to grow and provided a good source of starch during the lean winter months. They were also valued for their sugar content. Sweet parsnip dishes like jam and desserts became part of traditional English cookery, and they were used for making beer and wine. Today parsnip wine is still one of the most popular of the country wines in England.

Angelina Jolie recently returned with her adopted son Maddox to his homeland of Cambodia, and while there she fed him a local delicacy: a plate full of crickets, with their guts intact. Angelina told reporters, "I recently took Mad to Cambodia and it was the first trip there where he really understood it. We took him to a restaurant in the middle of the night and he had his first plate of crickets."

Insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, hypertension, high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol levels: a cluster of traits typically referred to as Metabolic Syndrome. All are known to be indicators of diabetes and heart disease in adults. What has recently been discovered, however, is that these same traits are also on the rise in adolescents.

I don't understand it. I'm not sure I want to. I just want people to respect the fact that someone having a bigger crisis than them may be in the bed next to them. And I may be needed more over there. I probably won't respond quickly to you if you scream at me to get your pain medicine. I will be busy with the man next door who is passing from this world. His problem supercedes yours. Your pain may last longer - but you'll still be alive at the end of it. He won't.

Thanks for the link in your post. The post you are referring to is actually someone else's but I thought it was important enough to post on my blog as well! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!